


Someone To Put Up With Me

by castielofasgard



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Also Pietro could totally be read as demiromantic in this, Basically Pietro sucks at being in love and it's pathetically adorable, He also sucks at flirting, M/M, Pietro is such a cynic, Pining, Puppy Love, Romantic Fluff, Seriously this is some sappy shit, and he probably has some underlying self-esteem issues tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-28 06:05:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5080564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castielofasgard/pseuds/castielofasgard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pietro had long been convinced that love just wasn't for him.</p>
<p>Until he met the fool of an archer who changed everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Someone To Put Up With Me

Pietro had always figured he’d die alone. Or at least in the romantic sense. He knew he’d have Wanda, of course, she was bound to outlive him. But he had just accepted that he was never going to settle down with anyone. He didn’t have time for that nonsense anyway. He had a sister to look after. 

Once they’d outgrown the orphanages, they had taken to the streets, bunking up in anyone’s house who would take them, usually in exchange for some help around the house. They never stayed anywhere for long, never wanting to overstay their welcome, but most of their hosts were very gracious and would let them sleep in their spare rooms until they found the next place to crash. 

They’d often end up spending a few weeks with lonely old ladies who would bake for them and would always ask Pietro if he had “a special young lady, because surely a handsome boy like you must have a girl”, to which he’d laugh and say,

“I’m sure I’ll eventually find someone who’s willing to put up with my shit for the rest of their life.”

But he never really meant it. He knew the only person he was likely to spend the rest of his life with was his sister. Romance was out of the question. 

Of course, that hadn’t stopped him from having any sexual endeavors. He had slept with the daughters of several of their hosts, as well as a few of their sons. The old widows were right about one thing, he _was_ attractive, and he both knew it and used it. Even if he wasn’t staying under the same roof as someone, he found it easy enough to flirt his way into their bed. 

And that was good enough for him. He could get an orgasm any time he wanted, so why bother with romance when he had nothing to offer in the long term?

 

And then, thanks to a most unexpected sequence of events, all of that changed.

 

It all started with what was probably one of the most questionable decisions of his and Wanda’s collective lives. They hadn’t known who or what they were really signing up for when they agreed to Hydra’s experiments, and though eventually they had gotten something positive out of it, Pietro had never been more miserable in his life than he was in those weeks in Hydra’s labs. The experiments were horrible. And as if that wasn’t enough, he was also tormented and violated in every possible way you could imagine. He wasn’t a person to them, merely a lab rat and a plaything, and my God, if he wasn’t secretly relieved when the Avengers stormed that base.

Pietro moved so fast with his new powers, he barely even cast a glance at any of those infamous superheroes. Except the archer, whose arrow he snatched right from the air before knocking the man flat on his ass in the snow, leaving him with a catchy little quip. Surely a man called Hawkeye should have seen him coming, right?

 

Next came the second most questionable decision of his and Wanda’s lives: allying themselves with a mysterious, smart-mouthed, murderous robot. He should have known that would all go a bit tits up in the end. But he sure did enjoy getting the chance to knock that archer flat on his ass again.

 

And then the third most questionable decision of his life, and his alone. He barely took a moment to choose it, but he didn’t regret it, and he didn’t know why. He went and got himself shot for that stupid archer, that beautifully idiotic man who had been willing to die for a single child he didn’t even know when he could have flown off to safety. And Pietro had been willing to die for _him_ , this stupid, beautiful man he barely knew. And by some miracle, he had survived. Two months later and he was still trying to wrap his head around that fact.

But more baffling than that was that suddenly, he had found someone who he wanted to inflict himself and all the shit that came with him upon. And that someone was Clint Barton. That stupid archer he had nearly died for. Suddenly, those old widows were right. Only his “special young lady” wasn’t a lady at all, he was a man. A stupid, sarcastic disaster of a man with rough, calloused hands and arms that put Greek gods to shame and a smile that could melt snow. Pietro would know, that smile had already melted his heart.

 

And that was how Pietro discovered that he was actually absolute shit at flirting. He knew how to flirt to get someone to bed, but he wanted more than that from Clint. He wanted to sleep with him, sure, but for the first time in his life he wanted it to be special, not just a casual one-time fuck. He wanted to wait. He wanted to love him first. And he had no idea how to flirt in a way that would get him that. So his methods ended up a bit, well... innocent. 

If he and Clint were in the same room, personal space was pretty much out the window. Pietro was like a puppy, always right at his feet, getting stepped on. Hardly paying attention to anyone else in the room because he was too busy gazing at Clint.

He was always looking for excuses to hang around him, so Pietro was thrilled when Steve announced they’d be training together, having noticed how well they worked together despite the constant teasing that – on Pietro’s end at least – passed for flirting. Pietro ended up wavering between trying to show off and purposely doing worse than he was capable of. He especially took this approach in sparring sessions, which almost always ended with Clint on top of him and Pietro looking breathlessly up at him with stars in his eyes.

And then there were the team’s weekly Sunday night movie nights. They’d draw names from a hat for who got to pick the movie, then they’d all huddle up on the sofas with blankets and popcorn. Pietro made sure to run in and nab the seat next to Clint, regardless of whether anyone else seemed to be heading for it, and after a few weeks everyone just took it as a silent rule that Pietro sat with Clint on movie night. He would sit as close to Clint as he dared and they’d share a blanket and a bowl of popcorn, shoulders brushing ever so slightly. 

 

The night they watched _Paranormal Activity_ was simultaneously the best and the worst Avengers movie night Pietro had attended. When Sam announced they were going to be watching a scary movie, Pietro decided that he would take full advantage of it whether he was actually scared or not. He sat closer to Clint than he ever had, joking about how nervous he was, though it wasn’t the prospect of the movie that was giving him butterflies. 

Then he ended up actually getting scared. And so did Clint. By the final scene, they were practically in each other’s laps, holding hands so tight they were both sure to have bruises, the blanket pulled up to their noses so just their wide eyes peeked over the top. When the end credits began to roll, they both let out a sigh of relief and Clint buried his face in Pietro’s shoulder.

“Who the fuck suggested that movie?” he demanded in a muffled voice.

“Sam,” Steve said immediately.

“Wow, thanks for ratting me out,” said Sam.

“I’m gonna kill you in your sleep tonight,” Clint said.

“Yeah, and I’m gonna know you’re coming for me ‘cause you’ll have to turn on every light along the way,” Sam teased.

Clint flipped him off. Pietro patted him on the head and hoped that Clint would write off his racing heart as a reaction to the movie.

“If you need an accomplice in your murder scheme, I’ll gladly lend a hand,” he said.

“Look what you’ve done, Steve, you’ve got them plotting against me,” said Sam.

“Hey, I’m not the one who picked that movie,” Steve laughed. “Though I’ll admit it had some benefits.”

He smirked, giving Pietro a very deliberate look. _Oh shit_. They were on to him. 

“What benefits are these?” Clint asked, finally emerging from Pietro’s shoulder to glare at Steve.

“Oh, you’ll catch on...”

Clint turned to look up at Pietro, whose heart skipped at least three beats. They were so close he could see the little flecks of green and blue in Clint’s eyes.

“Do _you_ have any idea what he’s talking about?” Clint asked.

“Ummm.....”

Pietro could feel himself blushing, his heart threatening to crack his ribs with how fast it was beating. 

“I think I’ll just go to bed and let you two puzzle that out,” Natasha said.

She gave the others a look and they all promptly agreed and started a not at all suspicious mass-exodus of the movie room. Pietro was beginning to suspect a conspiracy. 

“Okay, something is definitely up,” Clint said.

“You think?”

“They know something.”

“Yup.”

The question now was, did Clint know? Or was he totally oblivious, meaning this night would end in disappointment and/or embarrassment?

They were still sitting unbelievably close, and Pietro suddenly realized that they hadn’t let go of each other’s hands. Clint seemed to have just realized this too because he looked down at their intertwined fingers, an unreadable look on his face. Then his expression softened.

“Oh,” he said, so softly it was almost a breath.

Pietro didn’t say anything, just watched him nervously. Clint looked up at him again, but this time in a way he never had before, as though he was seeing Pietro anew. There was the slightest hint of a smile on his lips and in his eyes. He looked so beautiful in that moment, and suddenly, Pietro knew.

“Oh,” he echoed, his voice just as soft and breathless.

Pietro’s gaze flickered down to Clint’s lips and at last they closed that agonizing gap between them. Their lips met, soft and gentle, more tender than any kiss Pietro had ever experienced. It barely lasted a moment, and when they parted, Pietro felt as though he would never catch his breath, but in the most glorious way.

“I never thought this would happen to me,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Clint asked.

“I never thought I’d find someone who wanted to put up with me,” Pietro said. “I wasn’t sure I even wanted to find anyone like that. But now I can’t imagine wanting anything else.”

 


End file.
